NOTE! This site uses cookies

Three Michelin star restaurant Sant Pau to close down after 30 years

World-class chef Carme Ruscalleda to "redirect" her career

SHARE

06 July 2018 10:56 AM

by

ACN | Barcelona

One of Catalonia's most famous restaurant, 'Sant Pau,' will close down on October 27 after 30 years of success. Run by world-class Catalan chef Carme Ruscalleda, it has been awarded three Michelin stars since 2006. Combining Catalan cuisine with an Asian touch, 'Sant Pau' has been the most iconic establishment by Ruscalleda, who is also linked with Asia by running a restaurant with the same name in Tokyo, Japan, with two Michelin stars. She has another establishment in Barcelona, 'Moments,' with two more such stars, led by her son Raül. Altogether, she owns seven such awards.

The chef told the Catalan News Agency on Friday that both restaurants will still be working and that she is not "retiring." In fact Ruscalleda said that she is seeking to "redirect" her career. What's more, she said she would also continue working with her husband Toni Balam in their project Cuina Estudi, by for instance opening a new pop-up restaurant of Catalan cuisine this summer in Montecarlo, Monaco.

"Before losing excitement and force, I think if you can, you have to close a story with eagerness"

Carme Ruscalleda · Catalan chef

What will happen on October 27 in Sant Pau restaurant? Ruscalleda said that it will be a "normal service," with the "clients who had already made a reservation for that day." Indeed, she said the restaurant will close with a "waiting list" and it will become a bar run by the chef's daughter Mercè. "Before losing excitement and force, I think if you can, you have to close a story with eagerness," Ruscalleda said. She has been a household name in Catalonia for years, with frequent appearances in the media and public events.

This way, after October, the country will go from four to three tri-star restaurants: 'El Celler de Can Roca,' run by the three Roca brothers and also second best restaurant on Earth according to Restaurant magazine; 'Lasarte,' led by chef Paolo Casagrande; and 'ÀBaC,' by Jordi Cruz. After the Michelin Guide 2018 gala, held last November, the country amassed 55 Michelin-star restaurants.